Connections: Brian Rottschafer
A few years ago, I was looking at different college ministries in the Southern California area, in part for my research that I was doing for my seminars. Most of the churches I contacted had multiple staff, and they were the most likely to have college pastors. One of those churches, ROCKHARBOR, is planted in the south end of Orange County, just a short ride to the beach. That's where I met their college pastor, Brian Rottschafer. Since then, Brian and I have kept in contact, often dialoging about college-age students and the ministry at his church, which he has been overseeing for the past four years. Over three thousand young people call ROCKHARBOR their church, but many more come to at least one of their multiple services throughout the week.I asked Brian to share some of his thoughts and experiences working with his group.
One of the things he finds positive about them is that they are passionate. He shares that,"this generation seems to have an openness to talk about spiritual things and have a huge heart for social justice." He goes on to share,"They want to set wrongs [to] rights and [they] love to worship and hang out together." He points out that they are curious as to the working of the Holy Spirit and love to serve others, whether through local ministries that the church supports or through overseas mission trips.
There are struggles with every generation, and Brian admits that this group has its share of them. One of those areas is the lack of biblical knowledge. "College students, even those at Christian schools, are not as biblically literate as we would like." Many others who work with this generation would agree with that statement, and it seems to be a growing concern with churches around the country. Another problem area is that this age group tends to reflect more the world's image than of Christ. He shares that,"drinking, drugs, and sex are a big problem." He continues to say,"...they are fast starters, but don't always stay committed to the end. They can be enamored with the spectacular and bored with the mundane."
Reaching out to this generation is not an easy task for the Church. What Brian and his church are trying to do is simply disciple those under their care. "We believe the best way to effectively reach college students and have lasting change is through community." His focus is helping them to connect with the church, to see that real life change takes place within a community of believers. Most of their time and energy is spent training their leadership that oversees their campus Life Groups, which meet on and around campuses throughout Southern California. They want their students to see that their mission field is their campus or work place, so they work with outside ministries to support this vision. "Ultimately," shares Brian,"we would love to see college students looking towards the church as a positive agent of change rather than a dead relic."
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on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 4:30 AM.
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